How do you safely test new apps on a live store?

Shopify Apps
1

I recently tried out a new app on a clients store and it caused a conflict with the cart page and prevented a few customers from checking out before I realized what was happening.

In other website systems (Wordpress, Webflow, etc), I can make a change on a staging site, test it, then push it to production when it’s ready. However, there is no staging site functionality in Shopify.

I know that if I make changes to a theme, I can test it on an unpublished theme. But this doesn’t apply to apps, of course.

The only method I’ve found is to use the Rewind Staging app which is $99/month - far too expensive for my situation. Am I missing a way to test apps to see if they cause any issues?

2

Hello,

If the app is built for Online Store 2.0, you can deactivate the app on the live theme and keep it active on an unpublished copy.

  1. On a theme, click “Customize” to open the Theme Editor.
  2. On the sidebar, click the App embeds (three blocks with a +) icon.
  3. If the app is listed, click the toggle to activate/deactivate. This will only affect the theme you’re on.

Let me know if you have further questions.

3

What if the app you want to toggle to deactivate is a custom app and doesn’t show up on the App embeds list? Is there a way to deactivate on the live theme and test on a theme copy?

Thank You!